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2.1.
Windows
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Installing Windows
Before installing the GRIA package on a Windows system, you will require the following:
- The Windows installation CD, Service Packs, etc.
- User with administrator privileges to install GRIA.
N.B. There are several ways to install and configure Windows, so you are advised to consult your system manager and set-up the system according to your needs.
This page explains how to install and configure all Windows prerequisites and how to configure the firewall.
Software Pre-requisites
The Windows distribution CD does not include several of the necessary packages. These are Java 1.5.x (5.0) and Tomcat 5.5.x which must be installed separately. In addition if you are installing the GRIA Basic Application Services then Perl is a pre-requisite and, optionally, if you wish to use the demo applications, ImageMagick e.g. version later than 6.0.x. The following sections describe how to install and configure these packages for Windows
Java Installation
Download the JDK 5.0 Update for the Windows platform from Sun (the file will have the form jdk-1_5_x__xx-i586-p.exe). Double-click on the downloaded binary to run the installer, and during installation use the default values.
Tomcat installation
Download version 5.5.20 or higher of the Windows Service Installer Package.
Install Tomcat by double-clicking on the downloaded package e.g. apache-tomcat-5.5.20.exe. During installation use the default values, ensuring that:
- the path for JVM points to the SDK directory and NOT the JRE, e.g. C:\Program Files\Java\j2sdk1.5.0_05
- a password for the Tomcat admin account is provided.
Configuring the Firewall
The deployed GRIA war (or webapp) should be hosted behind a firewall to ensure that your server can only be accessed on certain ports. You should consult with your systems administrator to determine if you need to run a firewall on the GRIA server machine.
Windows XP by default runs a firewall which blocks ports 8080, and 8443. However, Windows 2003 Server by default does not run a firewall. If you decide to run a firewall on the machine hosting the GRIA services, you will need to open port 8080 and 8443 during installation. The firewall can be configured by: choosing the Windows Firewall from the Control Panel, then click on Exceptions -> Add Port and enter name and number:
- Tomcat, 8080 and leave transport protocol as TCP
- Tomcat (secure), 8443 and leave transport protocol as TCP
When you've finished setting up GRIA you can block port 8080 again.
Configuring NTP
In order to provide some synchronisation between the clocks on machines that the various GRIA packages are installed on, it is recommended to run an NTP client service that will synchronise your system with an Internet time server.
There are several NTP client implementations available, e.g. Meinberg's NTP client. If you decide to use this one, then during installation select the default options except for the "Configuration File Settings" dialogue. Here you should select an NTP server from the "Want to use predefined public NTP servers" drop-down list that is geographically located closest to you.
Starting Tomcat
The easiest way to control Tomcat on Windows is to use the Tomcat Monitor tool. This is available by selecting Start -> All Programs-> Apache Tomcat 5.5 -> Monitor Tomcat. Once it is started you will notice a new icon on your taskbar. Right-click on the icon to start and stop the tomcat service. If you want the tomcat service to automatically start on boot-up right-click on the icon and select "Configure". Then change startup type to "Automatic".
